Hull City reach Championship playoff final as Millwall suffer more heartbreak at The Den

Mo Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt came off the bench to send Hull City to Wembley as the Tigers tamed Millwall at the Den. Belloumi, who replaced the injured Kyle Joseph on the stroke of half-time, took advantage as the home defence switched off and curled home to stun Alex Neil’s side. Millwall pushed for a leveller but were caught on the break as Joe Gelhardt doubled Hull’s lead 11 minutes from time. Sergej Jakirovic’s men are now just 90 minutes from a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017. After a goalless first leg at the MKM Stadium, the early stages in London produced little in the way of goalmouth action. Millwall took a while to get going but began to turn the screw just before the 20-minute mark. Moments after making a hash of a presentable volleyed chance, Camiel Neghli kept a deep cross alive to cause problems for visiting keeper Ivor Pandur. The ball dropped to Thierno Ballo, who hooked the ball goalwards, only for Kyle Joseph to clear off the line. Hull’s early approach was to get balls in from out wide and it almost handed them the lead 10 minutes from half-time when Ryan Giles’ pinpoint cross found the head of Oli McBurnie. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football's Facebook page But home keeper Anthony Patterson, who had been relatively untested up to that point, rose brilliantly to tip the ball over. McBurnie went close again just two minutes after the restart, making a late burst into the six-yard box after Regan Slater found space in the inside right channel, He must have thought his effort was destined for the back of the net only for Tristan Crama to come out of nowhere and get in the way. Millwall turned to their bench, throwing on Mihailo Ivanovic in a move which suggested boss Alex Neil wanted to take the game to the opposition. But their adventurous approach allowed gaps to open up. Hull missed the lively Joseph, who limped off at the end of the first half and will be a doubt for the final. His replacement Belloumi took a while to get into the game but made up for that in style when he broke the deadlock. Left-back Alfie Doughty had just come off the bench for Millwall and didn’t get close enough to the Algerian, who was given time and space to curl into the far corner. It could easily have been two midway through the second half when Barry Bannan’s loose pass was intercepted. Slater looked ready to pick his spot but Jake Cooper got back just in time to deflect the ball behind. Ivanovic had a great chance to make that block pay but couldn’t get over his header and the hosts perhaps started to fear time was running out. And it was one of Hull’s subs who delivered the hammer blow. Joe Gelhardt had been on the pitch for barely a minute when he rounded off a rapid counter-attack, with his low drive squirming through Patterson’s hands to break Millwall hearts. Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.